


The Family Portrait - Five Years In Between

by akasharpiegirl



Series: The Family Portrait - Five Years In Between [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Adorable Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Cute Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Hurt Tony Stark, Hurt/Comfort, I love her, I swear, Irondad, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Kid Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Light Angst, Married Pepperony, Mid Avengers: Endgame, Morgan Stark Needs a Hug (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Out of Character, Parent Pepper Potts, Parent Tony Stark, Pepper Potts Feels, Pepper Potts Needs a Hug, Pepper cares about her family, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Precious Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Pregnancy, Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is Good With Kids, Uncle Happy Hogan, Uncle James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Wedding, Wedding Planning, barely any angst, because I hate the russos, i don’t care tbh, im the author and I do what I want, probably, screw them, she’s a nerd, so does tony, sorta unplanned pregnancy???, they didn’t give us any Pepperony content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:14:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24831448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akasharpiegirl/pseuds/akasharpiegirl
Summary: With many new types of memories to be made, join the Potts-Stark family on their journey into marriage and family life after the snap.Alternatively:I don’t like how The Russos gave us zero pepperony content and just went “oh they had a kid and the wedding was implied”, so I decided to write their five year journey the way I oh so badly wanted to see it evolve.
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan & Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Pepper’s Brother, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Pepper’s Mother, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Pepper’s Nephew, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Pepper’s Niece, Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe) & Tony Stark, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Pepper Potts & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Pepper Potts & Natasha Romanov, Pepper Potts & Pepper’s Brother, Pepper Potts & Pepper’s Mother, Pepper Potts & Pepper’s Nephew, Pepper Potts & Pepper’s Niece, Pepper Potts & Pepper’s Roommate, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Tony Stark & Pepper’s Brother, Tony Stark & Pepper’s Mother, Tony Stark & Pepper’s Nephew, Tony Stark & Pepper’s Niece, Tony Stark & Pepper’s Roommate
Series: The Family Portrait - Five Years In Between [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1796167
Comments: 13
Kudos: 56





	1. The Last Piece

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter summary:
> 
> After ‘proposing’ during a press conference to cover up for a no-show avenger recruit, Tony makes sure Pepper wants marriage. And unbeknownst to him, a few months down the line, he finds out a bit of happy news from Pepper that will change their lives immensely (for the better, too).

**A few months before the events of Infinity War:**

After the cover story went out about Pepper Potts and Tony Stark being engaged was released due to Peter’s change of heart on the Avengers Initiative, Tony felt bad for throwing the subject of engagement in front of Pepper’s face without an opportunity for much thought. The face she made when Happy threw the idea at them was permanently etched in his mind. He only saw her look in his peripheral vision, but dang. Tony just wanted to make sure, with one hundred percent certainty, that she really wanted to get married. He also remembered how pissed off her Mother was not even five minutes after CNN posted the story. Needless to say, Tony never wanted, under any circumstances, to see nor hear Pepper’s Mother mad again. 

Tony was officially going to ask her tonight, and to say that he was nervous of her answer would be a complete understatement. Out of his character, he knew that. He also knew that she’d think he was stupid for asking again. But did he care? No. (Maybe a little.) He was planning on taking her out for dinner and go for a small scenic walk after she was done with work. 

———

The two were a few minutes away from a lake that was along the scenic trail, walking hand in hand. Tony thought he would shake the nerves along the walk, but they were almost to the lake… and if he weren’t having a conversation or holding hands, it would’ve been extremely obvious that he was nervous. 

“So, I have to ask. What’s the occasion, Stark?”, Pepper asked haphazardly as they approached the clearing by said lake. Pepper noticed that this land was for sale, but pushed that bit of information in the back of her mind. 

“What? There’s no occasion,” he answered way too quickly. 

“So you just decided on a whim to ask me out on a date...? At my favorite restaurant?”, Pepper asked, noticing the quick response time. “Instead of our usual weekly date night traditions?”

“Is it that much of a shock to you?”, Tony asked her, letting out a small laugh. 

“Maybe a little,” Pepper answered him. “It’s been nice though.”

“Just wanted to switch it up, that’s all,” Tony answered. 

“Just making sure,” Pepper smiled at her fiancé. 

The two walked to the dock at the lake then. Dim street lights and the subtle glow of the moon were the only things truly lighting their surroundings. 

The two shared an embrace. “Okay, so the truth is… there is an occasion,” Tony answered.

“Alright Tony, what’d you do?”, Pepper quickly asked, pulling away from the embrace. 

“Contrary to popular belief, I did absolutely nothing,” Tony quipped, acting a little offended. “No it’s… Uh…” His smile became more soft, looking at her. 

“What?”, Pepper returned the smile.

“I love you, Pep. It seems like a thousand years ago a feisty, beautiful redheaded and freckle faced woman stormed into my office trying to explain to me that my own mathematical calculations were incorrect, then threatened bodyguards with pepper spray that... uh, you... didn’t actually have. Something in my heart knew that I’d end up with that girl, you know. I’m a little bit mad that my heart didn’t let me act on it for so long. It’s always been you, there's no doubt in my mind. I know you hate when I talk about that, but it’s true,” Tony started, seeing Pepper’s small scoff when he mentioned the pepper spray moment he could still retell in perfect detail from over ten years ago. “I just want to make sure you truly want to go through with it.”

“What, marriage?”, Pepper asked. 

“I—,” he paused. “Yeah, basically.”

She laughed slightly, “This is so unlike you.”

“Believe me, I’m completely aware,” Tony agreed. “I just keep thinking of the face you made at the compound that day.”

“Oh, that?”, Pepper asked. 

He was silent, but it got the point across.

“I made that face because it was odd, Tony,” Pepper clarified. “We started dating in 2008, six months after the gala. Happy said he had  _ your  _ engagement ring with him since 2008, and it was weird for me to know you thought about me like that… that early. It just confused me. I think you’d be confused if it were the other way around. Plus my brother had just gotten divorced so marriage was the last thing on my mind at that moment, and… yeah. I mean, I’m fine now. But…”

“I don’t think I would be completely confused, but sure,” Tony halfheartedly agreed. “I’m sorry if it freaked you out.”

Pepper switched the subject, “Both of us are stalling here.”

“Are we?”, he asked with a smile. “I didn’t notice.”

“Tony, I swear,” Pepper commented, letting out a small laugh. “Is this the one time you don’t know what to say and I’m gonna have to be a Topanga Lawrence for a minute?”

“Why does this have to do with  _ Boy Meets World _ ?”, Tony asked after he thought for a moment.

“I’m making you rewatch that episode when we get back after this,” Pepper mumbled before speaking up again. “Anyway, Tony. Yeah, I have to admit the  _ proposal  _ was sudden. But it’s not like you had a say in the matter… at least from what I gathered. It's up to you now, not me. I want to live life with you, I want to marry you. It's your call. We can wait a little while or we can go ahead and have the ceremony in August like we initially planned.”

“August it is then,” Tony confirmed, taking Pepper’s hand in his as the two looked out at the lake.

“Are you still wanting to build that lakehouse?”, Pepper asked him curiously.

“Yeah, kind of,” Tony confirmed. “Only if you support that venture, though.”

“This is a beautiful spot, you know,” Pepper stated. “It technically still hasn’t been bought.”

  
  


**Two months after Tony returned from space, July:**

  
  


Pepper awoke in the middle of the night, nausea pooling into her stomach immediately upon opening her eyes. She looked over in the dark room, seeing the silhouette of her fiancé (thankfully) asleep, before she quickly and quietly fled to the main restroom. She didn’t want to wake him since this was the first night since he came back that he hasn’t woken up in panic at least once. 

Upon brushing her teeth, she was sat on the bathroom floor and up against the wall fifteen minutes later… now weak, utterly exhausted, and hungry. She stared at the clock in the bathroom. 5:09 AM. How much longer is this going to happen? Her obstetrician said that her morning sickness should have stopped ages ago. 

“He better have the best reaction when I tell him about you because you making me sick still is just too much,” Pepper muttered, as if the fetus in her stomach could hear and understand her just yet. 

“Reaction to what?”, Tony’s voice filtered in the room upon knocking on the cracked door... which Pepper hadn’t heard.

“Oh, I, uh—“, Pepper’s eyesight shot up to him as he walked in and her words fell short. “Crap.”

“Woah, woah... hon, are you okay?”, Tony quickly asked upon seeing her sickly condition. 

“I can’t believe this is happening, oh my God,” Pepper mumbled, shaking her head slowly. “And I’m fine, Tony. But I had a better way to tell you, I-I had it all planned out. I...”

“I’m... I’m sorry, I’m not following,” Tony asked as he took her hand, helping her up. They stepped out of the bathroom then. 

She looked at him fondly for a moment before looking away, trying to figure out the best way to explain it. They were both exhausted, she could tell. And while Tony is technically the smartest man in America, when he’s tired? Not so much.

“So, uh, you know that... that conversation we had in t-the park a few months ago?”, Pepper questioned. “You know, on our run?”

Tony blinked as he searched her eyes. The dream he had about starting a family. Could it be that? That’s not possible. They hadn’t tried…  _ right _ ?

Since there was no answer, she continued her explanation, “Three weeks before that... I got really stressed with work and the wedding, you know… so I forgot to take my birth control for a day or two because I could only think about that stuff. And, uh, I didn’t think of the possibility when we, you know... Then two weeks after that day in the park, you were still gone and I was late and starting to get sick. I ordered a box of pregnancy tests because it was too terrifying to buy some in public. God, I can only imagine the headlines if I had. I took five because the first four positives felt like fakes. I just wanted this to be all over, wake up, and realize the last two weeks without you were just my subconscious terrorizing me. I can normally do stuff on my own, but this... this was—is big. I didn’t want to fathom the idea of our baby growing up without you… her Daddy. Then, the ultrasound I had a day after that proved it was completely real... and then all of the continuous morning sickness that just won’t go away. A-And—“

“You’re pregnant?”, Tony asked, cutting off her venting as he saw her eyes well with tears that she tried to blink away. 

“Y-Yeah, I am. I’m just now starting to really show, but I’m almost f-fifteen weeks. I had to reframe my entire posture so people at work... or you... wouldn’t catch on so easily. And, she’s due on January 7,” Pepper gave a weak smile. “I want to wait as long as we possibly can to tell the world, neither of us need that stress. I’ve wanted to tell you since you came back, especially on Father’s Day, but I didn’t... I didn’t want to potentially stress you out. I was going to tell you in a few weeks, I had it all planned out, but... it seems life had other plans. I was also going to wait to find out their gender until you knew, but... that obviously didn’t happen either.”

“Hold on a sec. This... this is a lot to take in. This isn’t a joke, right? You’re serious,” Tony questioned as his eyes lit up at the realization. How’d he get so lucky, he wondered. “You’re actually pregnant?”

“Why would I joke about this?”, Pepper let out a small laugh, seeing Tony glance at her baby bump before looking back up at her eyes. “Tony, you’re going to be a Dad. Not only that, an amazing father to a little girl.”

“God, I love you Pep,” he mumbled as he embraced her close. “I don’t know the first thing about parenting, but I’ll try to be a good one. I promise. I love her so much already and I’ll never let her forget it.”

“I love you too. And, I’m sure she loves you just as much as you do.” She relaxed into his touch, as he kissed her cheek. “I brushed my teeth before you came in, so…”

“Oh, you’re fishing,” Tony joked as he looked at her.

“That I am,” Pepper nodded. “Do I need to make it any more abundantly clear?”

“No,” Tony stated before sharing a kiss with the love of his life… and now, the mother of their child. “Do you need me to get you anything?” The embrace came to its end then.

She looked at him lovingly. He has always cared for her, but this type of happiness and love he had... it was different. And she loved to see it. “Uh, yeah... Some water and maybe a pack of crackers if we still have some. Thank you.”

————

“What’s with that face?”, Tony said upon setting down the cup of water and the pack of crackers on her nightstand, seeing Pepper’s disgusted face as she looked at her phone.

“Oh, it’s just my brother,” Pepper rolled her eyes as Tony climbed back into the bed with her. “He sent an old photo of me, him, Shawn, my now ex-boyfriend,  _ and _ my friends on first semester shadow day that was in my junior yearbook sometime after we went to bed earlier. Then reminded me of something that I said right as the photo was taken, which was totally  _ not  _ foreshadowing to my life in this current moment.” She turned her phone off and set it on her nightstand.

“Foreshadowing? For what?”

“My two friends had this insane celebrity crush on  _ you _ when we were in high school,” Pepper started, seeing Tony try to hold back a smirk. “I didn’t see why or how at that point in my life. Might be because I thought celebrity crushes were weird and so that kept me from finding anyone outside of my town attractive.”

“Is that so? My beautiful, intelligent fiancée didn’t have a crush on me when she was in high school? Intriguing,” Tony let out a laugh this time as Pepper playfully nudged him with her elbow. “So what did you say?”

“They were gushing about a photo of you that made it in the paper all the way in Connecticut. Country wide news or something, I don’t remember,” Pepper recalled. “And, obviously… the news wasn’t  _ that  _ great, you know. As I was writing down homework answers, I haphazardly said:  _ Good luck to whoever marries him one day _ , because I was annoyed with them talking about you. And I swear I didn’t just say that because my boyfriend was in earshot either. So, uh… I jokingly wished luck on myself.”

“Would you look at that? Life was never supposed to be this way for you, huh?”, Tony teased. “And wait, your Mom allowed you to date at fifteen? Seems hard to believe.”

“I was sixteen, Tony,” Pepper rolled her eyes at him. “You better not be jealous of my high school boyfriend for knowing me then because he was genuinely awful… and you probably would’ve hated me in my high school days anyway… I wish I could’ve seen how awful he was sooner, though. It taught me what I didn’t want in a guy, and congrats! You made the cut  _ eventually _ and I’m glad you did.”

“So what qualified me to be your boyfriend?”, Tony asked, curiosity coiling in his mind. 

“In high school, I… I, uh, started writing these lists of qualities I did and didn’t want in a future partner. It was drafted up until my mid twenties, but I compiled a lengthy one. A lot of people told me that was stupid to do, that I had too high expectations. But, some of those things I wanted were: you’re hardworking, smart, respectful, funny, you eventually started to remember the little things, and are a good listener. Give or take a few, you matched. For marriage, well… everything I just said, and be willing to learn parenting skills if I would ever have kids with them. Which, we are, and you will. Things I didn’t like, well… there were only one or two a while after we started dating. You still have a big ego and you’re a bit too self-sacrificial for my liking… and you still need to learn how to cook better,” Pepper recalled. 

“You know how to pull me off that pedestal though,” Tony shrugged, dismissing her second to the last comment on accident. “And I’m trying. Cooking is hard.”

“That I do,” Pepper smirked at him. She was thankful she learned how to, if she was going to be honest. “I know, honey. You’re getting there slowly.”

“I’m glad life turned out this way. Getting married to you and starting a family is something I never thought would happen,” Tony looked at her.

“I am too,” she agreed. “It’s crazy to think about…”

It was quiet for a moment, as the two just basked in each other’s presence. 

“And honestly, if I could go back in time and tell my younger self and her friends that I’d be marrying you years down the line and we’re having a baby together, myself would be shocked and my friends would be arrested for attempted murder while Shawn cries for help and Chris just laughs at me,” she cringed at the thought. “My ex would’ve probably fled the relationship right then instead of cheating on me shortly thereafter.”

“Well, I’m glad that’s not technically possible. ‘Cause I don’t know what I’d do without you,” Tony lovingly glanced at his fiancée, feeling a smile grace his lips again. He still couldn’t believe it. How did he get so lucky?

“I don’t know what I’d do without you either,” Pepper smiled as she took the cup of water from the nightstand.

“Can I see the photo? I just know you’ve got to have had that annoyed look going for you since you were at least ten,” Tony asked curiously.

She took a sip of her water before replying. “Yes, or… I could show you my anatomy scan photos of the baby and you can forget any of this ever happened,” Pepper attempted to persuade him as she set back down her cup.

“Where are they?”

Taking his response as a confirmation. She picked the three sonogram photos out of her half open drawer and handed them all to Tony. “The first two are from my first and second visits and the last one is from my most recent appointment.”

Pepper inspected his facial expressions as he looked at the small photographs. He was squinting at them at first, and she could tell he was fighting back tears as he did. She scooted in closer to him, rested the back of her head on his shoulder, and rubbed his back in a caring manner.

“You okay?”, she asked a moment later as she saw a tear fall from his face in the corner of her view. It took a lot for him to cry, she knew that.

“It didn’t feel real when you told me,” Tony spoke in a small whisper. “This… It’s really happening.”

“Mhm,” Pepper hummed.

“I…”, his words fell short even though he knew exactly what he was thinking. 

“You’re scared you won’t be a good Dad, aren’t you?”, she questioned.

“Y-Yeah.”

“If you’re scared, that’s probably a good sign you’ll do everything you possibly can to be a good one,” Pepper replied. “You know what not to do. With my eleven years of babysitting experience and some parenting books, you’ll get the hang of it. It’s going to be okay. You’ll do everything in your power to make sure she doesn’t have the same childhood you did, because I know you. You’re nothing like your father, Tony. I’ll say it as many times as you need to hear it, because it’s true.”

“Words can’t express how much I hope that’s true,” Tony mumbled, setting down the photographs.

“You know, my Mom has messaged me every single day since you’ve gotten back… asking me if I’ve told you yet,” Pepper veered the subject, gently guiding his left hand to lay on her bump. 

“Oh?”

“Mhm. Can’t wait to get that question today,” Pepper states. “Even if I didn’t get to tell you the way I wanted… telling you in the bathroom after a nausea wave works too, I suppose.”

“How were you going to tell me?”, he asked.

“Make you a cup of coffee and use a coffee mug that I had bought engraved saying ‘you’re a Dad’,” Pepper recollected. “Not actually say it until you read the message at the bottom of the mug… I just had this strong feeling that I would’ve loved your reaction if it worked out that way.”

Tony let out a small smile, “That seems really cheesy, Pep.”

“You’re only kidding yourself if you try to convince me that you wouldn’t find it cute,” Pepper rolled her eyes. 


	2. Naming Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Pepper discuss names, plans for the wedding, and gear up for the world to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don’t know if this part is important to the series or not, but yeah. Enjoy!

“Names,” Pepper looked up from her phone as the two sat on their couch together. “Other than Morgan. You’ve got any ideas?”

“Hm,” Tony hummed in thought. “Rachel Stark has a nice ring to it. What do you think?”

“I kind of like that,” Pepper quickly stated before really thinking.

“Yeah?”

“Wait,” Pepper’s eyes widened, letting out a small frown. “No.”

“Why?”, Tony raised an eyebrow at Pepper’s change of heart.

“Uh,” she hesitated. “I don’t like that name.”

“Come on, you can tell me,” Tony tried to convince her.

“You’re going to think I’m petty,” Pepper confesses. 

“Is this the moment I figure out why you hate any character in movies or shows named Rachel?”, Tony let out a laugh. “But, really. You can talk to me.”

“So, I was bullied in school. Which, you know. And, uh, the kid who bullied me, Sarah Holloway, all through school had a younger sister named Rachel, who was the pint-sized version of her. All the way from her hair color to her attitude. When I was sixteen, their parents asked me to babysit for Rachel and their brothers… because of course, Sarah was so privileged she never had to do  _ anything  _ for her siblings,” Pepper started.

“Ah yes, the classic rich kid type. Thanks, Pep,” Tony joked. 

“You would’ve been the exact same way if you had siblings, don’t even try to convince me otherwise,” Pepper notes.

“Probably,” he shrugged. “But on a more serious note, continue.”

“Anyway, long story short, I think Rachel was taught the things she said to me… because it was the  _ exact same  _ spiel I heard at school every single day from her older sister. That was the worst night of my life as a teenager. I started crying the minute I left their house and started walking to my own, bawled once I got to my room ten minutes later. I don’t know why it hurt more coming from someone who didn’t even actually know me compared to her sister that had like three classes with me every single day. But… it did,” Pepper explained, trying to keep her composure. “I was basically told that I was never going to make it far in the real world and to get comfortable living in Connecticut for the rest of my days. Then, she was belittling my looks, too… about my hair, teeth, clothing… you know, all of that. Said no man would love me because I didn’t look like everyone else... I never saw regret in that ten year old’s eyes when she spoke to me.”

“They said all of that?”, Tony blinked in shock, laying his arm around her shoulders. “They purposely messed with you, honey. Your feelings about it are valid. That’s not petty of you, it's warranted.”

“It still stings sometimes, especially the ones about my looks. But at least I proved them wrong on the other, I suppose,” Pepper shrugged, an uneasy smile graced her lips then. “Actually, their teasing was probably the driving force behind me being so shocked… and quiet... when you appointed me as CEO. ‘Cause they said I would never make it far and here I was, being handed the highest role of a Fortune 500 company… after  _ years _ of being told I’d never make it out of my home state. Sometimes I still wonder if I’ve actually made it far at all in the grand scheme of things.”

“Connecticut, Pennsylvania, California, New York City, and now… here. From babysitter, to two accounting jobs, to my personal assistant, and then finally… appointed as CEO. I’m fairly certain you’ve gotten pretty far, Pep,” Tony compliments her. “And on the looks part... you are the most beautiful, gorgeous woman I have  _ ever _ laid eyes on, you know. From the moment I met you, when we started dating, and now… always. Every single thing about you. If people can’t see that, they need their eyes checked. And if you, yourself, can’t see how gorgeous you are, you need to invest in a better mirror.”

Pepper was quiet for a moment, though she leaned into Tony’s presence. She hadn’t seen herself as any of those adjectives since before her baby bump began to show. It was nice to hear. She murmured then, “Thank you.”

“Of course, honey. I’m just stating the truth.” He kissed her forehead before speaking again, “So, Sarah and Rachel are off the list… any other ideas?”

Pepper hummed, “What about Alayna?”

“Spell it,” Tony questioned before letting himself come to a conclusion. “Spelling makes all the difference with this one. There’s like twenty different ways.”

“A-L-A-Y-N-A.”

“With a ‘Y’,” he thought aloud. “Alayna Stark. I could see it. Almost too  _ Game of Thrones _ , though.”

She typed that one down on her phone before glancing up at Tony for a moment. “That’s Arya, but I see what you mean.”

“Hope?”, Tony asked. “It’s poetic, wouldn’t you say?”

“I was actually about to suggest that, you know. But, I see it as more of a middle name, maybe,” Pepper smiled. “Alia.”

“No,” Tony disagreed. “Too common and I have had too many run ins with girls named Alia.”

Pepper rolled her eyes, “Okay… what about Amelia?”

“I’ve come to a conclusion that you like ‘A’ names,” Tony notes. “I like it enough to consider it… but I keep coming back to Morgan.”

“You got another idea?”, Pepper asked.

“I’d say Maya but I had a run in with one and the exact same one got both of us into trouble years later,” Tony thought aloud. “What about McKenna?”

“No,” Pepper mumbled. “I don’t know why, I just don’t like it.”

“Fair enough.”

“Charlotte?”, she asked.

“I could consider it,” Tony agreed.

  
  


**A week later:**

The two were on the way home from the first baby appointment that Tony got to attend with her. He looked over at Pepper as he was stopped at a red light. She seemed to be lost in thought, he could tell for two reasons. One, her favorite song is playing in their car and she’s not singing along. And two, she was picking at her nails. 

“You okay?”, he asked her as the light turned green.

“Just thinking,” Pepper quickly answered. 

“That’s a dangerous pastime,” Tony commented, turning off the highway toward their home. “What are you thinking about though?”

“The wedding, all the deadlines if we choose not to postpone it until after our girl is born,” Pepper answered. “How far we’d push it back if we did go down the postponing route… oh, and I’m also freaking out over the news articles and news episodes dropping tomorrow morning about the baby.”

“What do you think we should do?”, he asked. “About the wedding, I mean.”

“The dress I picked out won’t fit me, obviously. I’d have to get a new dress and hope to a force above that it would actually look right on the day of. Because, I’m showing now. Some foods and drinks would need to be cut from the menu, probably. I’ll be 21 weeks by that point. It seems much easier to just push festivities later on, you know? If we cancel now, guests will have enough time to cancel accommodations without fees. And, yeah,  _ maybe _ elope on the date we planned to get married in a few months. But have the ceremony and all of that later, once Little Miss comes. Obviously not right after, but maybe a few months out. Once I’ve recovered, once she’s grown a little bit,” Pepper explained. “It’ll just be easier, you know?”

“I agree,” he nodded. “If she does come on her due date, how far would you want to push the ceremony?”

“Maybe 9 to 11 months out? Not a whole year, but close?”, Pepper thought out loud. “I know that’s long but it would give us some breathing room… Actually, do you think I should call soon and try rescheduling the venue and everything?”

“It’s a good idea,” Tony answered. “Honestly, moving the venue completely would be better. Our guest list is down almost fifty percent.”

“I didn’t even think about that,” Pepper said, her voice a little more sympathetic. She lost a few people close to her from the decimation, but not as many as Tony did. She lost one of her brothers and younger sister, while Tony lost a lot of his teammates, including his mentee—Peter, and a few other people too. Pepper’s ten year old niece (Annaliese) almost had to move in with her and Tony because both of Annaliese’s parents were victims of the decimation. Annaliese ended up moving in with Pepper’s living brother and his son since it was a closer move.

“Is there anything I can do to calm your nerves about the news?”, Tony asked.

“No,” she quickly rejected the thought. “It shouldn’t scare me, I know it shouldn’t… but it’s going from maybe a max of twenty people knowing about our baby to literally the entire world starting at 8 AM tomorrow. It’s freaking me out a little.”

“If the timing doesn’t feel right for you, I can tell ‘em put all of it on the backburner for another week or two,” Tony answered. “Cut it entirely if we have to. Talk about the pregnancy on your own call.”

“I don’t want to do that either. I’ll just get anxious all over again when the new date comes if I did… it’s just better to get it over with,” she sighed. “And, this  _ was  _ my call, so I have no idea why I’m so bothered by it. Heck, if I could, I’d hide in the house for the rest of my pregnancy and just shock everyone in January. But, I can’t. Employees are already getting suspicious at work on why I won’t personally visit certain labs and have to leave work early most days. I can’t keep this up for much longer… and I have to be okay with it. That’s why I made the call.”

“It makes sense why you’re nervous,” Tony noted. “But, it’s all going to work out okay.”

———

  
“The secrets out,” Pepper states as she looks up from her phone to see Tony emerge from the upstairs.   
  


“I know,” Tony nods, walking over to her in the kitchen. “Feels weird.”

  
She looks back down at her phone, letting out a small laugh.

”What’s so funny?”

  
“The picture _People_ used for the header,” she tilted her phone toward his view, taking a deep breath in to stop her laughing. “I didn’t think they would use that one, it’s weird!”

“Can you blame them? Our expressions explain it all,” Tony looked at the picture. “Fifty rejected names is quite an understatement though.”

“More like at least one hundred,” Pepper snickered, scrolling through the article. 

“Morgan is still on the table, Pep,” Tony shrugs, sneaking a blueberry from the fruit bowl.

“So is Alayna,” Pepper said, looking up from her phone at him. “Alayna Stark sounds nice.”

“Morgan Stark sounds nice as well,” Tony halfheartedly agreed, playing to his agenda all-the-while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Leave kudos, comments, and shares if you liked it. :)
> 
> I will post a part every other week on Fridays.


	3. The Story of Pepper’s Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony attends the annual Potts family Thanksgiving dinner with Pepper for the very first time and learns about her childhood. Hilarity and Pepper’s embarrassment ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi-ho! This was one of my favorite parts to write, and I hope you all enjoy!

** Thanksgiving 2018: **

  
This holiday marked the first Potts family gathering that Tony was invited to. During the drive through Pepper’s small Connecticut town, she pointed out all of the places where she went to school, where she took ballet (the property looked like it had been abandoned for five years or so, and she hoped it had just relocated), and various other places like local restaurants and theaters. 

“My nephew has never met you before,” Pepper states as Tony drove up the driveway of Pepper’s childhood home. 

“Carter?”, Tony added on. “Technically, yeah... I guess you’re right. He was asleep that night in 2016… and four.”

“Yeah…”, Pepper mumbles. She hated that day so much, but at least her brother and his son were safe now. It was the day Chris and his wife separated.

“You talk about him a lot, so I can only assume he’s a sweet kid,” Tony shrugs. “I’ve met Annaliese, I know that for sure.”

“Well, anyway, Carter stole my brother’s phone last night and called me while I was packing,” Pepper let a small laugh out. “And he kept asking me if you would be attending Thanksgiving dinner with me today.”

“Oh?”, Tony asked, feeling his ego boost a bit. “What did you tell him?”

“I could practically see his puppy dog eyes staring back at me through the phone,” Pepper reminisced. “I told him you would even though I probably should’ve said something like ‘you’ll find out’. Kind of scared that my brother is mad at me for that.”

“You seem upset by that,” Tony glanced over to see Pepper recover from a slight frown.

“No, I’m not. I’m just about to lose my favorite family member cred to you,” Pepper rolled her eyes.

“He’s an Iron Man fan?”, Tony questioned.

“Mhm,” she hummed. “Every single boy born between the years of 2000 and 2013 looked up to you at some point once you joined the Avengers. Carter is no different. I kept my relationship with you a secret from him for as long as I could. Almost blew it the night we helped Chris and him move. He knew I was dating someone named Tony. But then one day, not even a whole year ago, he’s watching TV with Chris and his cousin... and sees his aunt kiss Iron Man. Oh my gosh! How cool! I didn’t hear the end of it from Chris, Annaliese, and Carter for weeks. Thankfully Annaliese already knew and had zero shock factor about our relationship.”

“The announcement of our baby?”, Tony couldn’t help laughing at the frustrated look on Pepper’s face as she nodded. “You kept our relationship under wraps from him for his entire life? Even through the engagement news?”

“He’s six now, he found out when he was five. So, technically, no. I didn’t keep it from him for his whole life,” Pepper answered. “He could have woken up that night and my concerns for this day would be over, but no!”

“But up until that point,” Tony smirked. “He has no clue? Wasn’t that his entire life at that point?”

“Tony,” Pepper raises an eyebrow at her almost husband. “I just wanted to keep my status, man.”

“You’ll keep your cool aunt cred,” Tony laughed. “I can’t take that from you. Favorite family member though? I can’t say.”

She rolled her eyes.

“That him?”, Tony asked upon parking in the driveway, as he saw a small child being pushed on a tire swing, by who Tony recognized asAnnaliese from previous meetings and video calls. Chris was standing near them with his phone in hand. “He has darker hair than I remember.”

“Yep,” Pepper confirmed. “He’s grown up a lot since you ‘met’ him.”

Tony and Pepper retreated from the car a moment later, and while Tony was getting a plate of food from the backseat, Carter made a beeline for Pepper as Chris walked into the house.

“AUNT PEPPER! HI!”, Carter exclaimed as he hugged her legs. 

“Hey, buddy! How are you?”, Pepper smiled as her nephew let go and looked at her. 

“I’m good!”, he smiled back at her.

“How’s first grade going? Your Dad said you weren’t liking it the last time I checked in,” Pepper asked.

“It’s boring. They make you do work… and it’s not even hard,” he complained.

“Have you been tested for the gifted program yet? That might explain why everything comes so easy for you,” Pepper suggested. “That’s what happened to me.”

“I don’t think so…?”, Carter questioned, unaware of a new presence by his Aunt’s side. 

“You should talk to your Dad about it and see,” Pepper suggested.

“Thanks Aunt Pep—“

“I love you, Carter, but don’t finish that sentence,” Pepper quickly interrupted the kid, looking between him and Tony, her eyes dilated as soon as she heard the nickname.

“Why? He always calls you that,” Annaliese greeted her aunt as she walked over. “Also, hi, Aunt V.” Carter kept his focus on Pepper. 

“Did he just try to call you Pepper?”, Tony spoke up, letting the laughter succumb. “My legacy is causing everyone to call you that instead of Virginia, and I love it.”

Pepper gave a small wave to her niece as Tony spoke.

Carter quickly broke eye contact with Pepper and looked at the source of the new voice, before taking a step back and looking back at Pepper. “H-He—you… I thought you were lying.”

“Really? I would never lie—“, Pepper could barely get out before Chris re-emerged from the home.

“Oh no, she definitely lies,” Chris, Annaliese, and Tony said simultaneously. 

“I do not!”, Pepper exclaimed, seeing Carter let out a goofy laugh.

“That was a lie, Pep,” Tony pointed out. “I can see your Pinocchio nose growing already.”

“What did I do to get called out today?”, Pepper griped, rolling her eyes. She pointed to Chris, “You've annoyed me since birth.” She shifted her stance to look at Tony. “You’ve annoyed me since 1998.” She looked back at her niece and nephew. “They, on the other hand, are the purest children I have ever met. I can lie to you two because you guys annoy me and therefore, I would feel no guilt if I lied to you. If I ever lied to Carter or Anna, I’d die by guilt. See the difference?”

“The lesson here, kid, is that lying is bad,” Chris chuckled, while Carter tried his best to stop laughing. “Nice to see you again, V.”

“You too,” Pepper reciprocated, walking with Chris and Annaliese toward the front door.

“Carter, is it? It’s nice to meet you, officially. Aunt Pepper has told me a lot about you, you know,”Tony greeted the boy.

“H-Hi, Mr. Stark,” the boy shyly waved. “She has? And we’ve met before?”

“You were asleep when I met you the first time,” Tony smiled, he made a mental note to tell him the name ‘Tony’ was okay for Carter to call him by eventually. “And yeah, she’s funny, isn’t she?”

“Huh, wow,” he mumbled, walking with Tony into the Potts homestead. “Aunt Pepper, she’s the coolest. I mean, you’re cool too. Like, so cool. You’re an Avenger! But, Aunt Pepper is the best.”

‘Your reputation is covered, Pep,’ Tony thought as he and his future nephew walked into the house, seeing Pepper’s mother smother her daughter in hugs and kisses. 

Pepper was a carbon copy of her mother when it came to looks. Blue eyes, ginger hair, fair skin, and a face covered in freckles. Nobody else in their family shared that many similarities with their Mom, but rather looked mostly like their Dad. 

“She’s due on January 7,” Pepper informed her Mother, while Tony set down the food (that he didn’t make) on the counter. “Wedding moved to next year, everything is still on track though.”

“Oh that’s wonderful,” Pepper’s mother congratulated her daughter. “My little girl is getting married! Have you come up with a name for the baby yet?”

“Not yet, no. Tony’s pushing for a name I don’t really like. Maybe I’ll warm up to it by January,” Pepper shrugged. 

“Good afternoon, Elaine,” Tony greeted his future mother-in-law. “You still mad at me?”

“What? No. Not anymore,” she smiled. “How was the drive?”

————

Pepper left the bathroom and was about to head back downstairs when she saw her childhood bedroom peeking from behind the banister. 

She turned around, and walked toward her room, almost as if it was still a habit for her. She hadn’t lived here in years, and yet it felt completely normal opening up the door and stepping on in. She turned on the light and basked in the past. It’s as if she could see her younger self playing with her dolls, writing in her journal, reading those historical fiction books she loved so dearly, singing along to songs as she finished her homework… 

Pepper hadn’t realized that she had been standing there for ten minutes, until Tony came upstairs, to find her standing at the doorway and cradling her bump with tears brimming her eyes.

“Hey, hon, you alright?”, Tony asked as he stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders as he did. “What are you thinking about?”

“Mhm,” Pepper hummed, relaxing in his touch. “It might be pregnancy hormones, but I just… miss this. This room specifically, nothing else. The simplicity of it all, it’s beautiful.”

“Wait a minute. Is this the famous Pepper Potts’ childhood bedroom?”, Tony questioned as he glanced at the room. A bed was in the middle of the right wall, a lilac colored chest sat at the foot of it. Her nightstand held a lamp, record player, and an old phone line. Her records were lined up in a container between her bed and the nightstand. Her closet resided on the opposite side of her bed, filled to the brim with old clothes of Pepper’s. A desk and vanity were on the opposite wall, both covered in stickers and slabs of colorful paint. Her bookshelf was adjacent to the closet. Her walls were the same shade of purple as the chest in some places while various posters of bands and artists covered half it. Most notable ones weren’t of a group or person, but rather: movie posters of Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid‘, ‘Cinderella’, and ‘Sleeping Beauty’. 

“Yes it is. I got this room when I was 5. Right before my baby sister was born…”, she hesitantly smiled. “Also, technically, I’m still not allowed to have boys in my room. So you’re not supposed to be in here.”

“It’s not what I would have imagined,” Tony admitted, following behind her as she walked further into the room. “And, oh? Is that so? I know you’re a rule follower and all, but I’m pretty sure your Mom won’t mind if I’m in here.” 

“Yep, it’s true. You’re the first boy aside from my brothers and my Dad to see my room,” Pepper confirms with a small laugh as she looked at her old books sitting on her bookshelf. Her father died when she was 10. “And, what did you think my room was like?”

“To me, you’ve always seemed like you were that kid who had everything together, all the time. Classic older sister type. No spontaneity… pragmatic and practical,” Tony answered her. “Your room would follow suit.”

“Pleasantly surprised?”, Pepper looked over at him. 

“Yeah,” Tony shrugged. “It’s so different from the woman I know.”

“Well, guess that’s nice to know, I suppose. I haven’t been the same since high school, honestly,” Pepper admitted as she sat down on the bed. 

“How so?”, he questioned, sitting next to her.

“You know how I told you that I was bullied in school? And I was obviously too timid to stand up for myself, so I just let it happen,” Pepper recalled, holding onto Tony’s hand as she talked. “They made fun of my positive energy, the things I liked… and after a while, I just stopped trying and gave up. Then I was told that I wouldn’t get anywhere because of my status and timidness. This room was where I felt safest to express myself without judgement and didn’t have to think about my future. When I went to college, my roommate dealt with this ‘empty shell’ of a person, built me back up. What’s funny is, she was like what I was, almost to a T. Just a little calmer. But part of me hopes that side of me is still in my heart. I miss her.”

“I’m sure she’s probably still there, you know. This the same girl who cries watching Disney movies and those horrible romcoms?”, Tony asked her. He knew she had been bullied in high school, but didn’t know it was to that extent. “Oh, and, I've said this before, but… you have gotten pretty far in life. So, they were wrong there.”

“Yes, that’s… that’s definitely her. And yeah, you’re right, I suppose,” Pepper let out a small laugh. “I hate that you know that part about me. The Disney thing, I mean. And, uh, you willingly watch those horrible romantic comedies with me. You have no room to talk, Stark.”

“Our first real date outside of our homes was to see a Disney movie, of course I know. So you are still her,” Tony squeezed her hand lovingly before getting up. He purposefully ignored her last comment, though he let out a small laugh at the mention of it. “You know everything there is to know about my childhood, what about you? We’re getting married next year and all I knew about your childhood up until five minutes ago, was that you are the oldest sibling of four, babysitting was your first job, and that you hated celebrity crushes.”

“I don’t know what there is to say,” Pepper answered. “I just kind of… existed.”

“I know dang well that isn’t true,” Tony disagreed. “You have got to have something that made you, you, as a kid. You say you were this bottle of pure sunshine for a while, but that has to come with something.” 

“I’m not the one to talk about myself, you know that,” Pepper sighed. “Okay, you know what? I’m going to regret this, but… look around my room. Ask me about anything you see. I might have an answer.” 

He started at the closest thing to them, her bookshelf. He saw quite a few historical fiction novels lined up against the wooden case. The notable ones that stood out to him were the Anne of Green Gables series, Little Women, and the entire Samantha Parkington series from American Girl. “Historical fiction?”

“Technically Green Gables and Little Women are just fiction, not historical,” Pepper corrected. “Because they were written during the time it took place.”

“You get my point. Were you a history buff?”

“I was,” she confirmed, seeing Tony pick up Meet Samantha and flip it over to read the synopsis. “Until I had an existential crisis and changed my major to business, I wanted to teach history, actually.”

“Oh, wow. Now that I know that, if we homeschool our baby, you’re now in charge of history. But, seriously, how’d that happen? You wanting to change majors, I mean. You’ve always seemed like the woman who’s always known what she wants,” Tony asked, as he turned to a random page in the book. He laughed slightly upon reading a few lines.

“I failed a midterm so bad that if I didn’t pass the final with a 98 or better, I’d fail the class. Then I found out that if I wanted to teach history, I had to get certified in upper elementary and middle grade math education along with history... which makes no sense as to what class I failed the midterm in… because it definitely was not elementary and middle school math. This was all before the BOE changed certification guidelines,” Pepper admitted as she carefully eyed Tony who was still inspecting the book. (It was taking everything in her to not stand up and take the book from him.) “Business was the only major that they offered that didn’t require the class. I dropped out of the class and fled to business. Plus, it got me out of getting a certification in something I barely know how to explain to people.”

“What class was it?”, Tony asked, flipping to another page.

“No.”

“You don’t want to tell me?”, Tony asked.

“You’ll say it was easy for you,” Pepper rolled her eyes.

“What was it? Integral calculus?”, he inquired in a joking manner, glancing at her for a reaction.

Pepper stared at him in shock. How did he even guess?

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Tony smirked. “No, honestly… I never took that in college. Which is odd because it’s supposed to be a use in most engineering jobs… if you want to do it right the first time. So, no, I wouldn’t know how bad the class was. I can see it being complicated for others, though.” 

“Not really a jack of all trades, then,” Pepper joked. 

“Haha, very funny. I know how to use it, I just never took the class… because I didn’t want to,” He handed her the book that he had been looking at, “Tell me about this.”

“What about it?”, Pepper questioned, briefly looking at one of her favorite books as a teenager before looking back up at him with a raised brow. 

“It’s gotta be your favorite. I mean, you’ve got the whole set. Pages are annotated and crinkled from rereadings. Not only that, the spine of the book is hanging on for dear life compared to the rest of the shelf. First book only came with the doll for a while too,” Tony mentioned. “I have to admit, teenage Pepper’s commentary is gold.”

“I mean, yeah. She was my favorite, her stories… I mean. That’s what got me into history,” Pepper reminisced as she looked at the old book, but Tony’s statement repeated in her mind. Her head shot up at the realization. “How’d you know this one only came with the doll?”

“Said it on the back of the book,” Tony answered. “So where’s the doll?”

“There’s no doll,” Pepper quickly lied, even though she was unsure why she felt the need. He wasn’t her siblings or the kids she remembered from school. So why did it matter so much? 

“You either got it from a thrift store or sold the doll then?”, Tony continued.

“Why does that matter, Tony?”, Pepper quipped, quickly looking at where she knew her Samantha doll was stored before looking back at Tony as she stood up.

“She’s in the closet isn’t she?” 

“She’s not in my closet,” Pepper couldn’t help but laugh as Tony walked toward her closet and searched for a box. She quickly sat down again on the lilac chest and let out a satisfactory sigh when Tony turned around afterwards. “No luck? I told you that I don’t own a Samantha doll.”

“What’s the passcode to the garage?”, Tony questioned. “See no, you immediately contradicted your statement when I started looking. You went from there’s no doll to she’s not in my closet.”

“Tony, even if Samantha was in the garage, do you really think I’d tell you? If you want to check, find my Mom’s calendar and try all of her kids’ birthdates and see if you can figure it out. You’ll just be disappointed,” Pepper paused. “You’re such a childish man, you better be glad I love you.”

“Believe me, I’m grateful for that, hon,” he smiled at her and his vision shifted to what she was now sitting on. So, obviously, the revelation hit Tony like a ton of bricks. “Samantha’s in the toy chest.”

“Indeed she is,” Pepper smiles fondly. “I’m not moving and you can’t make me move because I’m pregnant. So...”

“You just called me childish but you’re the one sitting on a toy chest keeping your fiancé from seeing your American Girl dolls,” Tony pointed out.

“It’s called growing up with grabby siblings,” she said half heartedly. “I’m protective of all of my stuff.”

“Fair enough,” he nodded. “But now I know why you follow them on Twitter though.”

“Did you stalk my following list or something?”, Pepper furrowed her brow for a brief moment at the statement.

“No,” Tony quickly deflected. “You liked a post by American Girl about young girls and women in STEM like seven or eight months ago, Twitter said you followed their account. Peaked my interest for about five seconds before I let it go because I thought you only liked them because the company encourages and represents girls interested in science and history.”

“I love how you can remember that,” she rolled her eyes. “Tell ya what. Let’s let this go. Ask me about anything else in my room and I’ll tell you about it, as long as you don’t bring up my dolls again.”

After fifteen minutes passed Tony has looked through her entire room. He found the stash of her old ballet slippers (they made the decision to enroll their baby in ballet classes when she’s two or three as soon as Tony found the box), an old photo of teenage Pepper with her sister, her senior yearbook, her acceptance letter to college, looked through her records, and found just a few other things. He also found Pepper’s old letters to her future husband, which she was very adamant about him not reading. At least, not until they were actually married. (Deep down, she hoped he’d forget about the notes by then… she had no idea what type of things she wrote about from the ages of 16 to 21 and would prefer to not be reminded.)

Chris appears in the doorway a moment later. “Hey V, Mom and Anna have a question about dinner.”

“Did you happen to catch the question? Or do I need to come down there?”, Pepper asked.

“They didn’t say. Just asked me to get you,” Chris shrugged. 

“I’ll be down in a sec,” Pepper sighed as she stood up. Tony glanced at her, which caused her next statement: “Don’t.”

Tony raised his hands in surrender as Pepper exited her room.

“What was that about?”, Chris motioned behind Tony as he stepped into his older sister’s room.

Tony pointed to the toy chest before resting his hands by his side. 

“Oho,” Chris laughed. “Makes sense. Always been protective over her stuff, especially her dolls. She has three. Samantha, Molly, and Kirsten were their names, I think. Annaliese actually has one too, her name is Isabelle… She’s a dancer, I believe. She wants a Beforever doll named Rebecca, and I’m considering driving her to the Manhattan location after school on her birthday for that very reason. I honestly think Anna wants that doll specifically because she looks like Anna’s Mom… everything about Rebecca but the name and her story is strikingly similar to Amanda.”

“I think I drove by the Rockefeller Center location one day with my, uh… my old intern, I was quite shocked by how big it looked from the outside,” Tony notes, trying not to show the obvious hurt in his voice as he spoke about Peter. 

“I’ve never seen it before, I rarely leave Connecticut that much… so I’ll take your word for it,” Chris shrugs. “Back to V, I actually helped buy her first doll, she used her babysitting money for the others. Not that she knows about my piggy bank help with the first one. I overheard her and her friend talking about them at school once and even saw the Samantha set circled in her catalog, so I told our Mom about it.”

“How old was she?”, Tony asked. 

“Her thirteenth birthday. A year after the company was founded, actually,” Chris recalled. “She found out about them after a Pleasant Company catalog was miss-delivered to our home instead of the local rich family’s home up the road… no offense, that’s just their only descriptor…and Mom told her to return it, and she wouldn’t… since it was addressed to the infamous Sarah Holloway, which I’m sure you know vaguely about. Their house number was 2127 and ours is 2129, so it’s an honest mistake on the postal service. She thought that was a clever way to ‘take Sarah down’ in the shadows. It unfortunately didn’t work, but V was proud of herself for trying.”

“Well, that’s an interesting way to figure out your preteen and teenage obsession,” Tony commented. “It’s really hard for me to fathom that she was even remotely shy or made fun of at one point in her life, though. I mean, my first interaction with her was when she yelled at me and my security guards claiming she had pepper spray. Timidness was not a quality I thought to pin on her when I first met her.”

“Yeah. College and living in California really changed her, and I’m glad,” Chris snickered at the statement. “She only ever yelled at me and our siblings, maybe one of her friends in school when needed due to annoyance or someone not following the rules. It’s somehow nice knowing other people get to experience that because of her growth as a person.”

“Me too… about her being more open and headstrong… not the other,” Tony nodded in agreement. “What happened when she got the doll, though?”

“She got teary eyed when she opened the box and saw what it was. About five seconds after she yelled at me because I was trying to sit another present next to her,” Chris reminisced. “There’s a video of it somewhere in this house on our VCR I think. Though I think she’d bite my head off if I showed you any Pepper-centric home videos of ours.”

“Dang, she really never liked you,” Tony laughed, ignoring Chris’ comment on the video even though it interested him. 

“It’s generally just a joke now. But it technically wasn’t when we were kids, for the most part at least. And I don’t blame her for it, either,” Chris said a moment later. “I think it stems from the fact she didn’t even know me and her brother were coming.”

Tony blinked, “How did she… not know?”

“Toddlers don’t understand pregnancy and was never really told that she’d be getting two siblings. Three year old Virginia came home from daycare to hear me and Shawn as tiny babies crying in her home. I’ve been told that she sat and cried on the back porch step for a whole hour that day. She thought that she wasn’t important to Mom and Dad anymore,” he explained, Tony raised his eyebrow at the story in shock. “Doesn’t help that I started stealing her toys the minute I learned to scoot across the floor and that I accidentally broke her Samantha doll when she was 15.”

“I’ve got to admit, that isn’t the answer I was expecting to hear,” Tony sympathized. “Though that explains a lot. Poor girl, siblings are rough. Glad I didn’t grow up with one. For multiple reasons, if I’m honest. …and back up a second. What on Earth did you do to Samantha?”

“He stepped on her left arm while trying to walk in the kitchen and it snapped off her body because both Pleasant Company models and American Girl doll limbs are connected by thick string,” Pepper returned. “I didn’t forgive him for a year.”

“A whole year?”, Tony questioned. “Remind me to not get on your bad side.”

“Speaking of reminders, I paid for the replacement,” Chris looked at his sister.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. Thank you,” Pepper thanked him halfheartedly. “Even though Mom made you.”

“Last I remember, I didn’t complain about handing over 25 dollars for a limb replacement,” Chris commented. “I still love the fact we have your reaction to opening her again on video. One of the most hilarious things I’ve witnessed in my whole life. Your face when you saw the doll sized balloon...”

“Mom still has that?!”, Pepper asked in shock, a small blush rushing to her cheeks. “And yeah, of course you didn’t complain because I totally remember you _not_ whining over not getting to buy baseball cards for a solid two weeks after that.” She saw Tony laugh at the moment between siblings. “What’s so funny, Stark?”

“I’ve just never seen you so defensive. It’s kind of cute,” he smiled fondly at the woman he falls in love with over and over again every single day. 

“Boy, shush your mouth,” Pepper grimaced. 

—————

“How’s the wedding planning going?”, Elaine spoke up. 

“Eh,” Pepper shrugged as she took another bite of her food. “It’s going. We’re having to change a whole bunch of stuff and I hate having to let go of some things.”

“I believe we finalized the booking for the venue yesterday, right?”, Tony asked, looking at Pepper.

“Mhm. It’s the one that sorta reminds you of the venue where… where Shawn and, uh, Emily got married in Georgia, Mom. Invitations should go out in the next two or three months,” she answered, trying to suppress the fact it was difficult to talk about her other brother and his wife. “We’re actually only sending out ten or so. Everyone else gets it digitally, so you’re one of the lucky ones.”

“Oh! Like the jasmine house?”, Elaine asked, unfazed.

Pepper nodded. 

Chris looked up from his plate, “Oh, by the way, V. You owe me twenty bucks.”

“But I didn’t bet on anything,” Pepper raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, but you did,” he disagreed. “Let me take you down memory lane for a moment.”

Tony and Pepper exchanged a look, while Elaine Potts and Carter looked at Chris with confusion.

“Back in 1992, after throwing your cap with your graduating class and breaking up with your boyfriend, you dared to say something to me and the rest of our siblings,” Chris explained, his voice morphing into an odd storyteller voice as he spoke. “You said that you would be the first one to get married out of the four of us. Or, to be more specific, be the first to be engaged. If you were wrong, you’d pay up. ‘Manda got married in mid 2006, Shawn and I followed suit in 2016 and 2009. Granted, my relationship is no more, but I still was married before. Now, you. You didn’t get engaged until 2017.”

She choked back an embarrassed laugh, covering her mouth with a closed fist. “See no, no, no! You cannot profit off of eighteen year old, naive, Virginia Potts. I had extremely high hopes for myself.”

“You being naive doesn’t cancel out the fact you bet me and your siblings,” he shrugged. “Be glad you don’t owe 60 anymore.”

“You know, I would be on the receiving end of that twenty if my heart hadn’t done a 180 and told me to break up with my boyfriend in January of 2006 that I thought I was destined to marry the day before my boyfriend actually wanted to propose to me because my heart fell off a cliff and informed my brain that I actually liked him instead. Poor boy, he was heartbroken when I told him I needed to end it,” Pepper rolled her eyes, weakly pointing at her fiancé. She tried to ignore Chris’ last comment. Why does their siblings’ deaths seem to not bother him? He seemed completely unbothered by mentioning them. She also shot a sympathetic look at Annaliese, knowing she hadn’t quite taken the news over losing both of her parents so easily either. 

“Wait,” Tony interrupted. “You liked me for two years before that gala?”

“Lets see here, genius… why else did I, your PA, not talk to you for more than five minutes at a time for half a year?”, Pepper rebutted. “Because I can’t avoid my problems and just learn to bask in them while my brain informs me how stupid I am. Thankfully, in the grand scheme of things, I wasn’t stupid for long.”

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” Tony apologized quickly, immediately feeling bad. He should’ve known, right? Dang. What would life be like if one of them said something sooner? “In my defense for not knowing, you’re very hard to read.”

“So I’ve heard,” Pepper agreed. 

“You still owe me,” Chris spoke up.

“Yeah, yeah. I know. How much is that worth now? Thirty five? Forty? Fifty?”, Pepper asked before handing over a few bills with a grimace. “Put that toward something nice for your niece’s eleventh birthday in February or I’m taking that back.”

“Yeah, because forty really puts a dent in your pocket,” Chris snickered.

Annaliese looked up at her aunt with a goofy smile upon the request her aunt had for her uncle to abide by. “When can we play?”, she asked, switching the subject slightly. 

“Hm,” Pepper hummed, glancing at Annaliese with a sweet smile. “How about you guys start without me? Baby is kicking my ribs and I need a break. So, I’m going to go upstairs and take a nap. Someone come and get me if I’m not up when Carter and Anna need to go to bed, so I can school all of you in kart racing.”

She gave Tony a chaste kiss before fleeing the chaotic scene at the dining table.

————

Tony walked upstairs two and a half hours later, seeing Pepper laying down on her old tiny twin sized bed as she fiddled with her hands. Tony noticed that two of her dolls were sitting out on the top of her toy chest… in pristine condition. He noted that one looked like Samantha, while another had long brown hair in braids and tiny circular rimmed glasses on her face. He failed to remember whether that was Kirsten or Molly. A maroon coloredbox was lying on the floor that said ‘Pleasant Company’ with two silhouettes of a little girl reading and a lookalike doll above the name. Stray ribbon peaked out from the box, too.

“What time is it? Who has the longest winning streak?”, Pepper asked curiously, seeing him at the doorway. 

“It’s around nine,” he answered. “Carter has won two, Chris one, Anna two, I have won one. Your Mom is just watching. I would have won two but Carter hit me with a blue shell right at the finish line and his Dad swerved past me.”

“Frantic items on, huh?”, she chuckled. “Chris got me with a blue shell last year on the WiiU because of that. I was less than pleased.”

“I don’t know, but the thought of you getting fired up over your brother taking your winning streak in a Nintendo themed racing simulator is a funny thought,” Tony laughed.

“Uh-huh, nice to know,” Pepper notes. “It won’t be funny when I fight you for the same thing.”

He smiled at her, changing the subject, “Did you get any sleep?”

“An hour or so,” she grumbles. “The baby wouldn’t readjust her feet on my ribs and I couldn’t stop thinking. I’m just glad she's finally stopped making me throw up every five freaking minutes.” 

“Thinking about?”, he asked.

“The Baby. Carter. Annaliese. My siblings… my childhood. Everything,” Pepper answered. “The kids, they’re going to grow and are growing up in an extremely broken world, Tony. Our baby won’t have Amanda or Shawn, while Carter got them taken away from him without even getting to say goodbye. Annaliese lost her parents while she was at _school_ without getting a proper goodbye either. It was my first major holiday without them and it’s just… weird. It seems like it doesn’t even bother Chris or my Mom. Like, I get it. We lost Dad in 84 because of aggressive Leukemia and Chris got divorced in 2016, but… you can’t be so used to loss for it to not affect you somehow, right?”

He frowned upon the realization. He knew she lost people just as he did, but the thought didn’t really cross his mind how different their baby’s life could be without Pepper’s siblings. Family was and is important to her, so that must be hard. He also knew that a small part of the reason they were on a break in 2016 was because of Chris’ divorce, which was a big deal for her. Love scared her for a bit after that, and it made sense why. “I’m sorry, honey. It’s not fair to you or to them. Anyone who lost. But, I have a feeling everything's going to work out just the way it’s supposed to.”

“That better not include you suiting up again,” Pepper muttered, though loud enough that he heard. “You being quick to sacrifice yourself for others freaks me out and I don’t want our girl to be worried for you too. She doesn’t need that.”

“I—Every single time I promise something, I break it… not on purpose either,” Tony sighed, seeing his fiancée’s look of concern. “So, I'll word it differently. You have my word. I won’t take up Iron Man again. I’ll retire.”

“Thank you, honey,” Pepper weakly smiled at him as she pushed herself up to a seated position, holding onto a pillow. “Oh, and, uh… I want to take those back with us.” She pointed to the dolls.

“For you or for the baby?”, Tony teased.

“For the baby, Tony!”, Pepper rolled her eyes. “I mean, I’m not going to let her play with them for a while. Wait for a few years, once she understands how to take care of her toys… keep them in the garage or attic until then. It’s good to have them with us, though. Better to get them now rather than later. I was pleased to see that their faces hadn’t caved in from laying down for too long. I also want to bring the books home too. Maybe use chapters for bedtime stories or something, you know? They’re short and sweet. Plus, it’s important to introduce babies to books and language early.”

“Yeah, I getcha on the language thing,” Tony nodded. “Though, I find it hard to believe the dolls are only for the baby when she’s older, Pep.”

“Tony!”, Pepper exclaimed, playfully hitting him with the pillow.

Later on that night, the soon to be Potts-Stark family watched old Potts family videos (which embarrassed the heck out of Pepper half the time) and battled it out on Mario Kart, until Carter, Annaliese, and Pepper all fell asleep in the living room. Ending Thanksgiving 2018 on a good note. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed reading this (long) part. It was so much fun to write, so I hope it was fun to read rather than tedious. I wrote part of this after having a mental breakdown before my graduation over me being an adult where I just rewatched all my owned American Girl movies and so there’s that. Haha, whoops.
> 
> Would you all like me to write a fic about Chris and Carter (it’d be angsty, but it would cover the bases on why tony and pepper took a break in 2016)? Would you guys also like me to write snippets about Pepper’s childhood like the ones mentioned in this chapter? I’d be open to either or both! 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Leave kudos, comments, and shares if you enjoyed! 
> 
> Remember to follow my twitter (aoskayla) and my tumblr (akasharpiegirl) for updates!


	4. Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which the long awaited Baby Stark is welcomed into the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part makes my heart very, very happy and I hope it makes you all feel happy too!! I had so much fun writing it, especially the ending. :)
> 
> Trigger warning for mention of medical related things (ie; hospital, pushing, contractions, mention of breastfeeding, eluding to anxiety, IVs, etc.)

**December 31, 2018:**

  
  


After almost twenty four hours of labor, Tony and Pepper’s child was about to enter the world a week early. 

“Okay, Pepper, you’re all set,” Pepper’s doctor states, oh so very calmly. “According to your monitor, you have another contraction incoming in about three minutes. You’ll push the same way we practiced about an hour ago.”

“I-I don't know if I can do this,” Pepper’s eyes narrowed as it hit her... their baby was coming. Fear encapsulated her, she felt tears threaten to fall. “I’m sorry. I-I just can’t. I’m not ready.”

Her obstetrician shot a sympathetic look at her for a quick moment, “I know how scared you are, honey. I really do. But your baby is ready to meet you and you have to be ready for them too. You can and will get through this. You have my word. The quicker you get over this fear, the quicker you can rest.”

“No, you… you don’t understand how scared I am,” Pepper disagreed, looking at Tony in the corner of her eyes before darting her eyesight away. 

The obstetrician let out a heavy sigh, looking at Tony as she thought of her next words, “You think your fiancé would understand?” Before Tony has any time to react, her doctor speaks again. “You’ve got two minutes, Stark. Do what you’ve got to do.”

Tony looked at Pepper lovingly, carefully taking her shaking left hand in both of his and held onto it, “Pep, look at me. Can you look at me? What’s going on in your mind, honey?” He could see her right hand shaking too as she holds onto the bed railing, an IV secured on the back of her hand.

Pepper reluctantly laid her head back on the pillow and looked at him, blinking back her tears, “R-Remember that night in Miami? When I, uh, fell 200 feet?”

Tony nodded wordlessly, trying to keep his own cool. That part of the night in Miami was extremely unpleasant. He remembered the gut twisting feeling he felt when he thought she had died from the fall. He also noticed that Pepper’s obstetrician raised a brow at her explanation.

“That... That  _ was _ the most terrifying moment in my life, Tony. I might not have acted like it, but it was…”, Pepper explained fairly quickly. “I said nothing could make me more scared than I was in that moment. Finding out I was pregnant came close… helping my brother and his son get back on their feet after Chris’ divorce came close too… but well, uh, I was wrong. Because, i-in this moment I feel ten times worse than I did than... in Miami.”

“Honey, I know you were scared then. Heck, I was, too. But you survived that fall, didn’t you? If you got through that, you can get through this,” Tony started an attempt to calm her. “You have every single right to be nervous right now. But you have to pull through, you have to beat this fear, okay? You have no choice but to. I’ll be right here by your side through it if you need me to be, I’ll continue to hold your hand for as long as you need. I love you, I’m proud of you, and I believe you can get through this, okay?”

“Tony, I...”, Pepper mumbled as she held onto his hand. “I just... don’t know if I can. I-I wish I could. I’m sorry.”

“Honey, why are you sorry? You shouldn’t apologize for being scared. You might not know if you can do it yourself, but I know you can. It’s okay. You’re going to be okay. Pepper, do you trust me?”, Tony practically pleaded. He glanced at Pepper’s obstetrician for a moment, who had given him a sign of approval for his efforts.

She was quiet.

“Do you trust me Pepper?”

Pepper shakily nodded.

———

After another forty-three minutes passed since then, their baby was born. Tony hadn’t started full on crying just yet, but he was pretty darn close. (He would never admit it, but he did let one tear truly fall when his hand was temporarily inked with his daughter’s footprints.) While Pepper’s cries of pain quickly turned to tears of joy as soon as their daughter’s own cries could be heard throughout the entire room for the very first time. The baby was taken for testing almost immediately after Tony cut the umbilical cord and now they were waiting on her return. Pepper was grateful that she did have  _ some  _ time with her daughter before they took her for testing, though. 

A look of pride flashed on Pepper’s face when she heard the instrumental nursery rhyme play throughout the hospital hallways, “That’s for our baby this time. Never thought I’d see the moment come today.”

“Mhm, sure is. You look beautiful, you know,” Tony said as he looked at Pepper, holding onto her hand again, just as he did when she was giving birth. He would be lying if he said the thought of his hand breaking from the sheer amount of grip Pepper had on his hand hadn’t crossed his mind during the process. He knew she needed it, though. And he wished he could’ve done more than encourage her and squeeze her hand when she breathlessly said ‘I don’t know if I can do this’ and ‘How did my Mom do this four times’ every so often. 

“No I do not. Shut up,” Pepper stared at Tony with a look of pure exhaustion. “That’s a lie and you know it.”

“I think I know beauty when I see it, but okay,” Tony smiled at his fiancée. “You’re the strongest person I know.” The two let go of each other’s hand as Pepper rolled her eyes at him. 

“Sure, I am,” she mumbled sarcastically.

Their cleaned up baby girl, now wearing a onesie and wrapped in a blanket, was placed in Pepper’s arms a little bit later as the nurse congratulated the new parents, “Congratulations! Her tests look fine and she’s completely healthy. Does she have a name yet?” 

Tony looked down at Pepper, as he was still standing to the side of her hospital bed. This was something they only brought up a couple times. Tony kept pushing for ‘Morgan’, while Pepper still wanted ‘Alayna’. They were under the impression that they still had one week left to make the decision, but the baby had other ideas… so they never clearly stated nor agreed on one name in particular. 

Pepper looked away from their daughter, who was calming down upon looking at her Mother, for a moment and gave a weak smile to her fiancé before looking at her nurse, “Morgan.”

“Middle name?”, the nurse asked as Tony returned a smile to Pepper at the mention of the name.

“Hope,” Tony was quick to say.

And that’s who she is. 

Morgan Hope Stark was born on December 31st at 11:52PM. She had a head full of dark brown hair and everyone knew her eyes would settle to brown in a few months. She weighed 7 pounds and 5 ounces and was 19 inches tall. She was and is perfect.

“We’ll leave you three be for a little bit as I go check up on some things,” the doctor said, as the nurse and she were walking toward the door. “Depending on how you’re doing in about an hour, we’ll go ahead and move you to the mother baby unit after making sure she can latch. If you need anything, always press the call button.” With a nod from the new parents, the hospital room door closed.

Pepper looked at her daughter with pure admiration. “I love you so much, Morgan,” she says in a hushed tone. “You have no idea.” 

Morgan’s face scrunched up at her Mom’s statement, before her big eyes widened, looking intently with wonder at Pepper.

Tony sat down next to Pepper, “You don’t know how much I love you, either.” He looked up at the digital clock hanging on the wall. “Oh, and Happy New Year.” 

“You better love me because I am never going through that  _ ever _ again. Happy New Year honey. Love you.” The two shared an awkward kiss at 1:38 AM on January First, 2019, but Pepper finally asked the question Tony had been waiting for, “Would you like to hold her?”

With a simple nod, Tony carefully took Morgan from Pepper’s arms and held her close. 

Pepper saw tears well up in Tony’s eyes right before they slowly trailed down his face. He wanted to say something to Morgan, his daughter... but he just couldn’t find the words. How was he so lucky?

“I’ve never seen you speechless. But, if it helps, she loves and knows your voice, you know,” Pepper encouraged him. 

He hesitated, but the first thing he thought of was what he said, “So, uh, hi Morgan. I’m your Dad. This is all new to me. This parenting thing, it was never my dream. Not at first at least… But one day, somehow, having someone like you in my life seemed like the last piece. It’s scary and it’s new, but I’m sure it’s probably like that for you too. Figuring the world out little by little, you know? As you figure out the world, I’ll figure out how to be the type of Dad that you need me to be.” 

Morgan opened her big eyes and stared at her Dad for the first time as soon as he began to talk to her. 

“This world is a little different than it was a while ago, and part of me wishes you knew _that_ world and the people that were there. Amanda, Shawn… P-Peter. They all would’ve loved you if they had a chance to meet you. But, thankfully, the weight of our current world is a little lighter now that you’re here, Morgan. You matter to me and to Mom. You matter to people you haven’t even met yet and you would even matter to the ones I mentioned a moment ago. Mom and I love you so much. I don’t think either of us will let a day pass by where we don’t remind you of that.”

Little did Tony know, Pepper had taken a photo of her future husband talking to Morgan, and that’s part of how her family and her parents’ friends found out that the long awaited ‘Baby Stark’ had made her grand entrance. (She wouldn’t lie if asked if she shed a tear at the sight of Tony cradling Morgan, though.) The whole world found out a couple days later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! 
> 
> If you liked it, make sure to leave kudos, drop a comment, and share it with your pepperony loving friends!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for showing interest in this fic! I’ve been working on it since December and it’s been such a great project to work with. If you enjoyed, leave kudos, comments, and share with your fellow pepperony loving friends! 
> 
> Since this is semi-prewritten, I’m considering having an update schedule for this series. Unsure as of yet, though. Updates about that will be posted on my Twitter (aoskayla) and my tumblr (akasharpiegirl). 
> 
> Stay safe out there! <3


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